Diamond in the Rough
by nodesiretogrowup
Summary: A poor street rat falls for a beautiful princess, frees a genie, and learns his true worth. Yes, it's an Aladdin AU! I'll be posting one-shots in random order, but eventually it will be the full story in order.
1. One Jump

As the sun rose over Agrabah, a young man was already off to a bad start. A loaf of under his arm, running away from a swarm of royal guards.

"All this for a loaf of bread," Steven questioned skeptically.

The guards were closing in on him. Steven looked around for something to aid him in an escape. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a clothes line with drying laundry hung on it. _That will work_ , Steven thought. He quickly glanced behind him to gauge how much time he had. Feeling he had enough time, Steven grabbed ahold of a shirt and slid down the line, getting covered in an assortment of clothing. He landed in a pile of mismatch clothing, effortlessly catching the loaf of bread. He flaunted his victory to the dumbfounded guards, then gathered up any clothing that he could use for a disguise. Steven found a group of young women to attempt to blend in with.

"Morning ladies," Steven smiled, pulling a piece of cloth over his head in an attempt to hide his face.

"Getting into trouble a little early, aren't we Steven?" an old woman with a mischievous smile teased.

"Trouble? Me? No way. You're only in trouble if you get caught," he nervously chuckled.

Suddenly Steven felt a large hand on his shoulder. He was whipped around and found himself face to face with Jasper, the head of the royal guard.

Jasper had the most terrifying smile on her face. "Gotcha!"

As she lounged towards Steven, a pink kitten jumped on her head, causing her to wobble back and forth. The kitten jumped into Steven's open arms.

"Perfect timing, Lion, as usually. Now, let's scram."

As Steven turned to leave he ran head first into a guard's chest.

 _Gotta keep,_

 _One jump ahead of the bread line_

 _one swing ahead of the sword_

 _I steal only what I can't afford_

 _and that's everything_

 _One jump ahead of the lawmen_

 _That's all, and that's no joke_

 _These guys don't appreciate I'm broke_

At this point a crowd had formed in the marketplace, feeling various degrees of anger towards Steven.

 _Riffraff! Street rat! Scoundrel! Take that!_

The guards proceeded to shake the dubiously built structure Steven was standing on. He held out the loaf of bread and put spoke with the sincerest tone.

 _Just a little snack, guys_

 _Rip him open, take it back, guys_

Steven hid behind a post as the guards and the crowd threw swords, spears, and whatever they could get their hands on towards him.

 _I can take a hint, gotta face the facts_

 _You're my only friend, Lion!_

Steven swung into an open window, landing in a room full of beautiful women.

 _Who?_

 _Oh it's sad Aladdin's hit the bottom_

 _He's become a one-man rise in crime_

The women playfully flirted with Steven until he smacked right into a rather angry looking woman.

 _I'd blame parents except he hasn't got 'em_

As she swatted at him with bat, Steven scowled at her. How dare she judge him? She knew nothing about him. Steven forced a smile back on his face and fell back into his cocky persona.

 _Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat_

 _Tell you all about it when I got the time!_

One of the women push Steven out the window. Luckily there was a canopy beneath. He bounced off of it onto his feet and hit the ground running, Lion following close behind.

 _One jump ahead of the slowpokes_

 _One skip ahead of my doom_

 _Next time gonna use a nom de plume_

 _One jump ahead of the hit men_

There was a herd of sheep blocking his way to freedom. Not having enough time to find another path, Steven hopped on top of the sheep _._

 _One hit ahead of the flock_

The guards attempted to follow him, with little success. Steven took advantage of his lead, slipping his hands into his pockets and started to sprint _._

 _I think I'll take a stroll around the block_

As Steven made his way through the stalls, the venders and customers shouted at him.

 _Stop, thief! Vandal!_

In the center of the chaos, Lion was trying to snatch a necklace from a woman's neck. That was not helping the case against him and Steven. Steven grabbed Lion by the nape of his neck.

 _Lion!_

 _Scandal!_

The woman who necklace had almost been stolen fainted _._

The guards began to surround Steven, backing him into a doorway _._

 _Let's not be too hasty_

A woman swung the door open and scooped Steven up in her arms. He squirmed away as the woman tried to kiss him _._

 _Still I think he's rather tasty_

Steven jumped out of her arms and placed his arms around the shoulders of the nearest guards _._

 _Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat_

 _Otherwise we'd get along_

 _Wrong!_

As the guards leaned forward to grab Steven, he slipped out of the huddle and ran off.

Lion ended up surrounded by the guards. A sword lay in front of him. Lion picked it up with his mouth and swung it at the guards. All the guards stepped back, unsure of how to proceed.

A guard known a Navy pointed at the kitten, "he's got a sword!"

The comment earned her a slap to the back of the head, courtesy of Jasper.

"YOU IDIOTS! We _ALL_ have swords!"

Suddenly the guards remembered the weapons by their sides. They pulled them out and swung them about. Lion sheepishly set down the sword and ran to Steven, hopping onto his shoulder. The guards closed in on them.

 _One jump ahead of the hoof beats_

The crowd continued to shout insults at Steven.

 _(Vandal!)_

 _One hop ahead of the hump_

Guards began to surround him on both sides _._

 _(Street rat!)_

 _One trick ahead of disaster_

 _(Scoundrel!)_

Steven found a staircase and ran up the steps. One of the guards managed to grab Lion, but Steven snatched him back.

 _They're quick, but I'm much faster_

 _(Take that!)_

The staircase ended up being a dead end. The guards blocked what appeared to be the only exit. Steven turned to see a window behind him. _I guess this will have to do,_ Steven sighed. He grabbed a rug conve lying around.

 _Here goes, better throw my hand in,_

 _Wish me happy landin',_

 _All I gotta do is jump!_


	2. Proud Of Your Boy

As the sun set Steven and Lion walked back to the hovel they called home. Steven was dejected. He had been chased all through the marketplace for daring to feed himself, openly mocked by some stuck up prince who had pinpointed Steven's insecurities and no one had stuck up for him. They probably all agreed. He sighed.

 _Riffraff, street rat, I don't buy that_

 _If only they'd look closer_

 _Would they see a poor boy? No sire_

 _They'd find out, there's so much more to me_

Steven pushed the curtain, which acted as the door, to enter where he and Lion called home. He flopped down onto his "bed" face first. Lion pushed himself under Steven's arm, giving him a big lick on the cheek. Steven ruffled Lion's fur.

"Thanks buddy."

His eyes wandered over to the portrait of his mother. It was the last reminder Steven had of either parent. His mother had died shortly after Steven was born and his father had been missing for years. The townspeople claimed that his father ran off. But Steven knew in his heart that his father would never leave him on purpose. Not that it was any help in finding his dad. He stared up at the ceiling.

"I wonder what they'd think of how I turned out."

 _Proud of your boy_ _  
_ _I'll make you proud of your boy_ _  
_ _Believe me, bad as I've been, Ma_ _  
_ _You're in for a pleasant surprise_

 _I've wasted time_ _  
_ _I've wasted me_ _  
_ _So say I'm slow for my age_ _  
_ _A late bloomer, Okay, I agree_

 _That I've been one rotten kid_ _  
_ _Some son, some pride and some joy_ _  
_ _But I'll get over these lousin' up_ _  
_ _Messin' up, screwin' up times_

 _You'll see, Ma, now comes the better part_ _  
_ _Someone's gonna make good_ _  
_ _Cross his stupid heart_ _  
_ _Make good and finally make you_ _  
_ _Proud of your boy_

 _Tell me that I've been a louse and loafer_ _  
_ _You won't get a fight here, no ma'am_ _  
_ _Say I'm a goldbrick, a goof-off, no good_ _  
_ _But that couldn't be all that I am_

 _Water flows under the bridge_ _  
_ _Let it pass, let it go_ _  
_ _There's no good reason that you should believe me_ _  
_ _Not yet, I know, but_

 _Someday and soon_ _  
_ _I'll make you proud of your boy_ _  
_ _Though I can't make myself taller_ _  
_ _Or smarter or handsome or wise_

 _I'll do my best, what else can I do?_ _  
_ _Since I wasn't born perfect like Dad or you_ _  
_ _Mom, I will try to_ _  
_ _Try hard to make you_ _  
_ _Proud of your boy_

Steven looked out the window, seeing a magnificent view of the palace. It was one of the pluses of where they lived.

"One day Lion, we're gonna leave this life behind. We'll live in a palace of our own. No one to bother us or look down on us."

Little did Steven know that the grass wasn't necessarily greener on the other side.


End file.
